by Rustic Escentuals

Another convenient travel soap, this time in clamshells. Take your favorite soaps with you wherever you go! Perfect for those holiday travel plans, at relatives or hotels. Also another great way to use up any left over soap from previous projects for last minute gifts and stocking stuffers. Check out the Soap Sticks tutorial for another handy travel soap idea!

take your favorite soap wherever you go!

Supplies and equipment needed
Microwave
Microwave safe glass containers
Sharp knife to cut soap into cubes
Spray bottle with rubbing alcohol
Butter knives for stirring soap
Rubber gloves
Disposable Pipettes
Clamshell Molds – 3 oz
Clamshells Molds – 6 oz
Sweet Almond Oil
Thermometer to monitor soap temperature
Shea Butter Melt & Pour Soap Base (or base of your choice)
Christmas Fantasy Fragrance Oil
Gel Soap Colorants of your choice

gather your basic supplies

and your clamshell molds and colorants (as desired)

skin loving oil, optional

The Clamshells come in two sizes; 3 oz and 6 oz.

Step 1: With a sharp knife, cut up enough soap to fit the amount of clamshell soaps you will be making. Add a bit more to take into account that there will be some soap loss due to the soap sticking to the pouring container etc. I will be making 2 (3 oz containers) at a time for this tutorial.

Step 2: Melt about 6 ounces of Shea Butter soap base in a microwave safe container. Melt using 30 minute bursts until melted. Do not burn or boil, this will result in a poor quality rubbery soap. If there are any small chunks of soap left, stir slowly; the heat of the soap will melt these small chunks.

Step 3: With your thermometer, make sure your soap temperature is around 140 – 145 degrees before adding anything to your soap. After adding the rest of your ingredients it will be the perfect temperature for pouring.

watch for soap fever.. in this case, that’s a bad thing!

Step 4: I wanted to add some skin loving oil to the base to make it even more soothing for travel. Measure and add 1/2 teaspoon of Sweet Almond oil to the melted base and stir in slowly.

you can add some skin-loving oil to boost the soothing qualities, if desired

Step 5: Add 3 drops of your favorite Gel Colors soap colorant to your base (in this case, Sapphire Blue). Stir slowly until mixed well.

add 3 drops of your favorite color

Step 6: Using a disposable pipette add 2 ml of Christmas Fantasy Fragrance Oil. Stir in slowly until fully incorporated.

Christmas Fantasy Fragrance Oil – mmmmm!

Step 7: Your soap should be cool enough to pour into your clamshells. If it still feels too warm, retake the temperature then slowly pour. The 3-ounce clamshells can withstand temperatures up to 190 degrees, but you will want to pour the soap around 135 – 140 degrees.

once cool enough, pour into your clamshell molds

Step 8: Spritz with alcohol to remove any bubbles that may have formed. Wait about a minimum of 2 hours until completely hardened and cool before snapping on the lid of the clamshell.

spritz with rubbing alcohol to remove any bubbles

let cool at least 2 hours

Step 9: Repeat Steps 1 – 8 for additional travel soaps. You can even use the larger 6-ounce clamshells. The larger clamshells will take 6 ounces of soap each. These are much more sensitive to pouring temperatures, so please make sure you pour below 140 degrees.

the larger 6-ounce clamshells will make a more substantial size block of soap

Step 10: When the soaps are ready to remove, turn the clamshells over and slowly push out the soaps. If the soap won’t come out, stick it in the freezer for about 5 minutes, take out and let stand for about 5 minutes. You just need to do this once to help break the seal that forms. Break away one of the cubes to use and put the rest of the soap back into the clamshell for future use.

turn clamshell over and slowly push out the soap

break off a square at a time for use and store the remainder in the clamshell for later use

Step 11: This is also an awesome way to use up some of your other soap from previous projects. Pour your leftover soaps into these clamshells and hand out as gifts or store for future travels! Don’t forget to check out the Soap Sticks tutorial for another handy portable soap!

perfect for travel, gifts, and day trips!

check out the Soap Sticks tutorial for another portable soap